On The Road 7 (OTR7) 2014: Day 41, Tuesday, October 14, Umpqua Lighthouse State Park, Oregon, 6139 miles

Up at 6:30. The heavy rains that continued all night had stopped but there was a light mist falling. Once outside the tent, the first thing i saw was that the tarp was still standing, but barely. I expected it to be gone completely or ripped to shreds.

Took a walk with Erde onto the beach beyond the dunes in front of us. The surf was still pretty rough, but who could blame it? Erde searched in vain for new dog friends, but found none.

When loading the vehicle, I discovered what that strange noise coming from outside the tent last night in the storm. It was that sound of food containers on the roof rack being opened and plundered by racoons. From what I could tell, a few raccoons had managed to leap onto my Defender, then onto the roof rack, removed the two straps securing my spare food container, unlatched one handle, pushed back the lid, and picked and chose what they wanted. As it turns out, they managed to remove and tear open three cardboard packages of Whole Foods soups, none of which they liked since they left most of it. But the inconsiderate creatures did not pull the lid back on before they beat it and the rain soaked the six remaining 8x6x4 cardboardu boxes that held my Daily Food Rations. Fortunately, I was able to salvage all of the food in the boxes except for the oatmeal and the boxes themselves. I should have deployed the anti-raccoon technique i developed for the raccoons at Charleston Lake Provincial Park in Ontario, but who would have thought that raccoons work on wet, windy nights?

My ESIP (Erde's stool improvement program) is apparently working too well. I had to walk Erde for almost an hour this morning as she strained to go. Again, because of her pancreatic insufficiency and need for enzymes in her food, and my proclivity towards tossing her un-enzymed treats during the drive, her stools are the biggest worry for me on all these trips even more so than bears and camp-busting park rangers.

The drive along the Oregon coast was nothing short of spectacular....expansive oceans views every now and then, quaint little towns with names like Yachat and Hebo, beautiful mountain roads that you hope you don't encounter a tired logger on, little surprises that pop up every now and then (e.g., the bridge just to the south of Florence, and the little cities you drive through with all the stores you could possibly need like a Safeway, or Bread and Roses Bakery, which, sadly, was closed.

At 2:30, with the weather turning fiul again (actually, it turns foul every 30 minutes at this time of year) i decided to settle into the first decent camp down the road, which, according to the AAA book, which i did not trust any more, was to be the Umpqua Lighthouse State Park. I was hoping it was not the same lighthouse state park i passed in 2001 which did not allow dogs. 45 minutes down the road, when i came to it, i discovered that it was not. And not only did they allow dogs, but they had two pet-friendly yurts available, which i immediately opted for after sensing that the already foul weather was going to get fouler still, and it did.

Even though we only did about 150 miles today, again, at a rate of about 35 miles an hour, i was quite happy to get a respite from the foul weather, and judging by the photo of Erde in the yurt, she was too.

Keith and Barbara, the hosts, suggested i take a drive to the lighthouse at night, and i am thrilled that i did. I sat in the Defender in the parking lot across from it and was mesmerized by the sight of it. The light itself resembled a huge white gold ring going round and round like a carrousel, with its rubies and diamonds sparkling for miles around.

Tomorrow, unless the weather continues to be foul, we will get on the road to Jediaha Smith Redwood Forest near Crescent City California to reignite some memories from 2001.

Photos..

One of the many spectacular views from 101 along the Oregon coast